Samvel Babayan

Armenian general
the Uzbek football coach

Samvel Andraniki Babayan (; born 5 March 1965) is an Armenian military commander and politician from Nagorno Karabakh. He was one of the founders and main commanders of the Artsakh Defence Army during the First Nagorno Karabakh War and became a hero among Armenians for the military victories achieved under his command. Following the war, he served as the Defense Minister of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic from 1994 to 2000. During this period, Babayan "became not only the military leader but the most powerful man in Karabakh overall, controlling its government and economy" until his arrest and imprisonment in 2000 on charges of attempting to assassinate Arkadi Ghukasyan, President of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. Babayan was released from prison early in 2004. He served as Secretary of the Security Council of Artsakh from May 2020 until November 2020, when he resigned after the defeat of the Armenian side in the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war.

Babayan was born on 5 March 1965 in Stepanakert, Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, Azerbaijan SSR. In 1982, he finished Armenian secondary school #7 named after Yeghishe Charents in Stepanakert. From 1983 to 1985, he served in the Soviet military contingent in East Germany. According to Thomas de Waal, Babayan made his living as a garage mechanic and car washer and also worked at a café before the First Nagorno Karabakh War.

In 1988, Samvel Babayan enlisted in a paramilitary unit and rose to command his own unit. From 1989 to 1991 he was the commander of the Stepanakert Second Volunteers Company and a member of the Stepanakert underground central headquarters. In 1991 he was arrested by Azerbaijani authorities for his paramilitary activities but was released the same year in exchange for an Azerbaijani official captured by Armenian forces. Babayan rose to prominence during the military phase of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, in 1991–1994. Babayan coordinated Armenian operations in Karabakh, participated in the planning of the capture of Shusha and was the commander of the Lachin front.

Samvel Babayan established himself as the most powerful man in Nagorno Karabakh in the aftermath of the war. After Babayan's arrest, Nagorno Karabakh authorities confiscated Babayan's real estate, nationalized or closed down his enterprises, and detained or removed from office hundreds of officials loyal to him. The trial began on 18 September 2000 and ended on 26 February 2001, when Babayan was sentenced to 14 years of prison, stripped of several decorations and ranks, and disenfranchised. Babayan founded the United Homeland Party in Artsakh in September 2019. Babayan launched a presidential campaign for the 2020 Artsakhian general election, but was disqualified from participation.

During the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh war, Babayan was involved in the mobilization of Karabakh Armenian reservists and participated in the planning of a number of operations with Artsakh Defense Army commander Jalal Harutyunyan. After the end of the war, Babayan revealed that he was involved in the planning of the defense of Shusha in the last week of the war, but that three battalions had refused to carry out their orders. On November 10, 2020 he resigned as Nagorno Karabakh Republic Security Council Secretary and renounced the title Hero of Artsakh due to the conditions of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, accusing both leaders of Armenia and Artsakh of treason and criminal actions.

In April 2021, Babayan announced his intention to participate in the 2021 Armenian parliamentary election. Babayan ran in the Armenian parliamentary election in June 2021 as the prime ministerial candidate for the Liberal Party, which he founded in March 2021. The party received 14,936 votes, amounting to 1.17% of all votes, below the 5% threshold required to enter parliament.

Babayan has been awarded with the army ranks of lieutenant colonel (1992), colonel (1993), major general (1994) and lieutenant general (1996). He has been awarded with the Golden Eagle medal of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic (1997) and has been declared a Hero of Artsakh (he renounced the title after the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement).